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Chapter 3: To Know the Timeless

Today, time has become very important. People are counting minutes, people are counting hours, because they have forgotten their eternity completely. And particularly Mohammedanism, Judaism, Christianity - these three religions have been helpful in making people too hurried, too tense, because in seventy years so many longings and so many dreams have to be fulfilled. There is no time for anything else.

And all those dreams remain unfulfilled; all those longings remain as far away as the origin. Man runs and runs and reaches nowhere, but more and more he wants.

You must have read Leo Tolstoy’s famous story, How Much Land Does a Man Require? Leo Tolstoy is one of the greatest men humanity has produced. And just a few days ago I came to know.He was never given a Nobel Prize. Nobody is more worthy of a Nobel Prize than Leo Tolstoy. His creativity is immense, he has not been surpassed by anyone. He was nominated, but the nomination was refused by the committee.

The Nobel Prize committee opens it records to the public only after fifty years, so just this year they have opened their records for the public to see, or for research workers to look into. And I was so shocked! In the records it is said, “Leo Tolstoy cannot be given the Nobel Prize because he is not an orthodox Christian.” That was the reason. He is Christian, but he is not orthodox Christian. He has his own original ideas which are not traditional.

These considerations. His great books Anna Karenina, War And Peace - they are not considered at all. The consideration is whether he’s orthodox Christian or not. Then they should make it clear that the Nobel Prize is only for orthodox Christians. Why go on being hypocritical?

But these three religions have created a tremendous difficulty for humanity. They have all given the idea that you have only one life. Not knowing anything about past lives, they have given man a tremendously speedy, hurried way of life. You have to fulfill so much that everything remains incomplete. You cannot complete anything because you are in such a hurry - another thing is waiting, lined up!

People die with empty hands.

All the Eastern religions - Taoism, Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism - have given a totally different dimension, the whole eternity. You are not confined into seventy years; birth and death are simply episodes in your eternity. Many times you have been born and many times you have died; still, the eternal principle of life continues.

That has given the East a certain restfulness. There is no hurry, you can sit by the side of the master for twelve years. The master can take his own time - three years to look at you, three years to put his hand on you. Three years to hug you. Three years to touch your third eye and send a thunderbolt which transforms your whole being. And not giving you any verbal message.Junnaid was simply told by the master, “Now you can go. My work is complete. And whatever I have done to you, do to others.”